Hiring for the holidays: Retailers get ready
EUGENE, Ore. -- Holly Ervin and her husband Troy moved here from Mississippi because of the high cost of living in the South.
They hope to find better luck in the Northwest.
First, they have to find jobs.
"We live close to the mall and wanted to be close so it seemed like a good idea to get a job that's close to the mall so we wouldn't have to use a lot of gas," Holly Ervin said.
Job seekers like the Ervins are good news for seasonal employers ramping up holiday hiring. More job seekers mean more competition for positions -- and a higher-caliber workforce.
"We have seen a higher surge of employees, higher degree of candidate pool, which makes it better for the retailer because they have a higher selection," said Ron Glover, general manager of Gateway Mall.
Glover said there is a steady stream of job seekers.
"We're seeing an excess of about 100 to 200 people a week," he said.
The numbers are on the side of employers: unemployment in Oregon stands at 6.4 percent, meaning more people are looking for work.
At the same time, U.S. consumer spending fell 3.1 percent in the third quarter.
It all adds up to a risky holiday season for retailers, many of whom count on holiday shopping for 25 to 40 percent of their annual sales, according to the National Retail Federation.
A survey conducted earlier this year found the average shopper expects to spend $832.36 on the holidays -- and more than a third of shoppers started bargain hunting before Halloween.
Keeping the customer satisfied means having a workforce on the floor to keep shelves full, answer questions, even wrap gifts.
At Target, managers hope to bring in 75 to 80 new faces for the season -- about the same as last year -- and some applicants could find a permanent job.
"Our seasonal jobs start out as seasonal and it's kind of a time we can train them, and get them up to speed and the best of the best will keep on with future employment with Target," said Thomas Reeves, a Target manager.
Both applicants and employers hope all this hiring pays off -- and the shoppers show up.
